SARGODHA: Police raided a house in Bhalwal, some 40 kilometres from here, and arrested five suspects for their involvement in over 10 cases of robberies and planning a terrorist activity in the city.

On receiving intelligence and with the help of Elite Force, police recovered a huge quantity of arms and ammunition, including two hand grenades, Kalashnikov, rifles, 12-bore gun, two repeaters, 9mm pistol, 30-bore pistol, hundreds of cartridge rounds. Bhalwal City police also registered a case against the arrested suspects under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

Although it was a combined action of local and Elite Force, in the first information report the police presented it as a raid by four police officials under the supervision of Sub-Inspector Fakhar Abbas and also faced no resistance from the suspected terrorists.

District Police Officer Ammara Athar has ordered enhancement of patrolling in and around the city and particularly took notice of robberies and street crimes besides cattle lifting.

PROTEST: Local traders besieged the offices of the metropolitan corporation and deputy commissioner (DC) on Friday against the closure of the Liaquat Market Friday Bazaar and raised slogans against the administration.

Protesters alleged the district administration’s policies deprived hundreds of people from selling and buying various commodities at reasonable rates. They alleged the administration closed the Liaqat Market Friday Bazaar and forced the vendors to shift to Istaqlalabad Colony only to reward their favorites.

They warned that if they were not allowed to sell their commodities at Liaqat Market, they would stage a sit-in on road on next Friday and lock the entire commercial area of the city.

According to the administration, the Liaqat Market bazaar was closed on the directions of the DC as some people were receiving illegal money from vendors while the administration was also allegedly involved in causing losses to the municipality.

SEMINAR: The University of Sargodha organised a seminar on ‘Lockdown in Kashmir – Consequences and Challenges’ on Friday in the context of an indefinite lock down imposed by Indian authorities and abrogation of articles 370 and 35-A of India-Occupied Kashmir. The seminar aimed at highlighting Indian atrocities and bringing forth some of the key aspects of the Kashmir issue and the trajectory that it may witness in the future.

In his opening remarks, Vice-Chancellor Dr Ishtiaq Ahmad said that Kashmir was the unfinished chapter of 1947 partition. Kashmir was the issue of humanity and the issue of human being was above than all the issues, including religion and ethnic, he said.

Deputy Lord Mayor of Oxford Muhammad Altaf Khan urged the youth to raise voice on social media, quoting the findings of international human rights bodies’ reports to highlight the Indian atrocities. He said that the people of Kashmir were suffering immensely due to strict military siege by India in the occupied valley.

Kashmiri representative Prof Nazir A Shawl said that Bharatiya Janata Party was the political face of terrorist organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. He reiterated that the supreme sacrifices of martyrs would be honoured by completing their noble mission.

The abrogated articles 370 and 35-A granted India-occupied Kashmir a degree of autonomy and restricted ownership rights to only natives of the disputed territory, he said, adding that there was a need to highlight that Kashmir was the trilateral issue of Pakistan India and the people of Kashmir.

He said that there was need to educate the international community that the human dignity has been compromised in Kashmir by the racist center of terror India only to change the demographic of the state.

Commissioner Dr Farah Masood expressed solidarity and support to the self-determination struggle of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2020